Commerce seeks industry cooperation on privacy

A report from a Commerce Department task force on Web privacy is recommending that the industry create a code of conduct establishing privacy protections for Web users that would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The report includes a recommendation for the establishment of a "Privacy Bill of Rights." Stu Ingis, a partner at Washington, D.C., law firm Venable LLP and an adviser to a coalition of trade groups including the 4A's, said: "There's no fear-mongering in this report. It recognizes the value of the advertising market and the Internet industry for the economy."